They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. The City of Masvingo in partnership with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has embarked on a two-day induction workshop for Council owned schools’ (SDCs) school development committees  with the aim to reinforce the capacity of the SDCs who are charged with the responsibility of governing schools and increase parents’ active participationin school management. 

The program which has snowballed to become an annual event each time a new SDC is ushered in capacitate both school heads and committees on roles and responsibilities of SDC, the role of the Responsible Authority,  financial management, asset management, vehicle policy, recruitment procedures, audit, leadership and management principles. 

Over the years, there has been a remarkable improvement in SDC governance and management of schools. There was a leap in the number of effectively and efficiently governed Council schools. 

After training on financial and asset management, instituted changes have led to transparency in the management of school finances. This in turn has won SDCs greater confidence from the parents who are now more willing to pay school levies. 

Basically, to sustain close supervision of schools, demanding accountability is crucial. 

The two-day workshop established the following areas of concern; governance, financial management and school-community relations. The identified capacity gaps were refined.  

The workshop was graced by His Worship, the Mayor, Cllr Aleck Tabe and District Schools Inspector, Mr Ishmael Chigaba.

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The City was exhibiting at the 64th edition of ZITF under the theme: ‘ Innovation, the catalyst for industrialisation and trade.

THE 64th  edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) today saw City of Masvingo being awarded the most innovative, creative local authority that showcased at the trade expo.

This year’s trade fair was testament to the resilience and ingenuity of local authorities, with the aim to promote quality exhibitions and recognise the best exhibitions. 

City of Masvingo had some exciting functional innovations and lucrative investment opportunities, proving why it is the best destination for investment. 

The City of Masvingo stand did not only display products offered by council but also locally produced products and collaborations with private players – JadconConstruction, government ministries, non govermental organizations and women’s groups.

The Great Zimbabwe Monument where the story of innovation, industrialisation and trade began caught the attention of many visitors.

Kenya President who was the guest of honor, Dr William Ruto posed for a picture with His Worship, the Mayor Cllr Aleck Tabe and Town Clerk Eng Edward Mukaratirwa after Council received the award.

In a development set to enable ease of doing business, the City of Masvingo has unveiled a USSD bill enquiry and payment function on its website. A centralised system that digitalises all accounts information for ratepayers.

Ratepayers can dial *828*8*5# and proceed to enter account number and contact to be able to enquire and pay bills. The system automatically updates accounts information.

The introduction of USSD bill enquiry and payment platform has been received well by hordes of residents as it ensures that residents access their accounts to enquire balances and process payments conveniently.

Given the ever-present payment alternatives like mobile money services such a feature is going to be very effective and conducive for residents. Currently, Council has been making use of mobile money services such as Ecocash, OneMoney as well as bank transfers.

Key among the advantages of online payments is the creation of a cashless society, eliminating the issues of queueing in Revenue Halls, bringing major convenience to ratepayers.

The Council’s initiative works with the full support of a locally designed server that computes the data quickly and updates the whole system.

The system is independent of wholesome operations, allowing independent activities to transact then compile data in the background, instead of pulling the whole database to offer a service, adding so much speed on the serving terminal. Plans are underway to introduce a mobile application to cater for the service as well.